Just listened to some Fostex T50RPs today... WOW!

[joelpearce]

Quote:

The Sony 5000 pads are very bass-light.  I tested them out and they're quite thin below 100Hz. 

I actually had monstrous bass with the SA5K pads.
 
Now, it did take a lot of effort to get them twisted around to the right angle and lifted up to create a proper ear seal.

 

[fishski13]

Quote:

I actually had monstrous bass with the SA5K pads.
 
Now, it did take a lot of effort to get them twisted around to the right angle and lifted up to create a proper ear seal.

no way are the SA5K pads bass light on my head, no matter how i tape the ports.  i suspect it has more to do with the fit on an individuals' head.      
 

 

[bluemonkeyflyer]

So I just found that the T50rp has a tiny little baffle vent- venting backwave into the ear chamber.  This is pretty cool especially if you are all able to get good bass with this vent left open.  It probably accounts for a big part of the sense soundstage you can get out of this phone.  None of the new orthos have such a vent AFAIK and I don't know of any vintage ortho that does either, though there may be some.  Pretty exciting IMO!

There are 4 surrounding the driver, 1 at each corner. The only one fully open is the one at the 11 o'clock position if you have the solder points at the 6 o'clock position. I think of it as a pressure equalization vent. The other 3 are covered by the ear side baffle dust cover.

 

[dogwan]

Quote:

 
Anyone's got one or two spare stock cable(s)? I can paypal, or trade for newplast + akasa or you tell me, please PM

You've got PM
 

 

[ambchang]

I actually didn't find the 5K pads to be THAT bass light, I got more bass out of them than with stockpads.  I got some 840 pads as well, so I will compare them and see which of the three pads I prefer.

 

[dogwan]

I've got mine back together still working out some fine tuning, but they are sounding really good.
 
Pict's to come.
 
Here's a brief overview....
 
-Recabled to dual entry with custom magnet wire and teflon
 
-Sprayed on viscuous damping material in cups.
 
-840 pads
 
-Stock felt removed from front baffle.
 
-Stock felt replaced over vent and 2 slots blocked.
 
-Small reflex dot on the back of each driver.
 
-(1) 2mm slice of "pop-up" sponge placed tight against back of driver (this worked better than expected!)
 
Initial impressions- I think I'm in the same corner with BMF that less is more. In putting these back together I took it one step at a time and with just the re-cable and cup damping they sounded very stock but without the plasticky honkiness, although the highs seemed slightly recessed. They were very relaxed but good in the Ortho like presentation. After that I played around with the venting and tuned to the bass I like and added the reflex dot to bring some top end shimmer back. At that point they were sounding better than stock as best as I can remember from last weekend before I took them apart.
 
So then I added the slice of "sponge". Initially I was going to try some poly batting underneath but found that the little posts in the cup pushed the sponge right up against the driver. So I skipped the batting. And WOW! The top end really smoothed out and got all nice and sparkly. What's more I believe the upper mid spike levelled out. Bass is nice and tight, not extremely deep but more present than any of my other phones. But what really amazes me is how the soundstage opened up. Listening while going to bed last night I distinctly felt like I was sitting on stage with certain tracks.
 
Now, for my disclaimer.... I will spend sometime comparing them to my other cans and try my best to assess my owner pride and diy'er placebo effect (as objectively as possible). When I get a chance I will post some pics and longer term impressions, might take a few days as my GF is coming to town for the weekend.
 
-Dogwan

 

[vafan13]

well at least they weren't kidding when they said it was dense, lol. Anyways, thanks for taking the hit and trying it out.  Now..any chance you want to mail me (enough of) your homemade putty? =)
 
or if you told me what you did I could probably make some on my own.
 
Quote:

Anyone wanna go fishin'?

 

... One of their other formulas may not be as dense/hard as the Heavy Metal Extra, but the price is the same; so, "No Deal!"...

 

 

[PhaedraCorruption]

I have 1.5layers of transpore on the back of the drivers and the bass port is covered with only felt, but I feel that I'm not getting enough bass "punch" as opposed to my old setup with electrical tape over the vent and stiff felt over the back of the driver, although with this setup I find the mids are smoother and details are much better presented. 
 
Any ideas how I can obtain my old bass punch while still keeping the bonuses of this setup?
 
Another problem I have found after listening for awhile is they are a bit too bright, with sibilance starting to be an issue. 

 

[hans030390]

I'd suggest everyone try the most recent RP2 configuration with the 840 pads if you haven't. This should be the post. I believe it's a typo when mrspeakers says vents 80% closed, as the previous post says 80% open. I tried both, and my ears would also say it's a typo. I simply have the bottom vent covered with tape on the outside. 
 
They sound quite excellent in this configuration, and there are some measurements to back this up. I think there are too many people throwing around various configurations without measurements to back up their findings. Granted, not everyone can have their equipment measured...Still, that does not change the fact that our ears and, more importantly, our brains can deceive us.
 
This configuration has made them sound more lush than anything else I've tried with them, yet it retains a strong balance across the sound spectrum (perhaps even better than I had heard before). They had always been a bit too light for my tastes until now. 

 

[HDMan]

Sooooo much better with the stock T50RP pads folded in half, then cotton for the rear 840 pad riser (better seal, better soundstage, more refined treble and smoother mids, much more refined bass). I defintely am considering acoustic cotton now, I really think some proper acoustic material in the cups will also improve the sound greatly.
 
p.s. I have modified my 840 pads to a larger rim size to allow them to be pulled out further to fit more stuffing.

 

[snakeeater69]

Quote:

Sooooo much better with the stock T50RP pads folded in half, then cotton for the rear 840 pad riser (better seal, better soundstage, more refined treble and smoother mids, much more refined bass). I defintely am considering acoustic cotton now, I really think some proper acoustic material in the cups will also improve the sound greatly.
 
p.s. I have modified my 840 pads to a larger rim size to allow them to be pulled out further to fit more stuffing.

 
I'm not sure what you mean by this but did you mean sandwiching the stock pads with the 840 pads. I tried sandwiching the pads and I too notice better soundstage, a more refine sound, and a lot more comfortable. I will probably sow the t50rp and 840 pads together and then also sow a piece of sock to make putting on and removing the pads easier.
 
----update---------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Finally finish these bad boys. Took me forever since this is my first time stitching anything. It is well worth it though. The sound is "SUPERB" and super comfortable especially with LFF's shoulder gym bag pad headband mod. No more modding for me.

 

 

[bluemonkeyflyer]

I have 1.5layers of transpore on the back of the drivers and the bass port is covered with only felt, but I feel that I'm not getting enough bass "punch" as opposed to my old setup with electrical tape over the vent and stiff felt over the back of the driver, although with this setup I find the mids are smoother and details are much better presented. 
 
Any ideas how I can obtain my old bass punch while still keeping the bonuses of this setup?
 
Another problem I have found after listening for awhile is they are a bit too bright, with sibilance starting to be an issue. 

You could remove the half layer of tape. Is the stock bass port felt in place? Could be differences in equipment or personal preferences. I am not sensitive to sibilance, maybe because I dont hear above 15k hz. There could be sibilance above 15k that I don't hear but you do, I suppose.

 

[AnotherN00b]

 
Quote:

I actually didn't find the 5K pads to be THAT bass light, I got more bass out of them than with stockpads.  I got some 840 pads as well, so I will compare them and see which of the three pads I prefer.

 
I've been using the 5k pads so I'm very curious to hear your impressions on a direct comparison. Thanks!! 

 
 

 

[mrspeakers]

Quote:

I actually had monstrous bass with the SA5K pads.
 
Now, it did take a lot of effort to get them twisted around to the right angle and lifted up to create a proper ear seal.

To be clear, I didn't qualify my statement.  In the setups I tried they had light bass.  That included on an otherwise stock set and in a set designed for the 840s.  
 
I think all pads have a huge effect on bass, but they vary based on the mod and the seal, so it's hard to generalize and say "this is the perfect pad."  You can only say "this pad works great with this mod but not some" or "I don't like the fit."  I also found the 5000 pads had the least isolation, and were kind of hard and not comfy, so that partly led me to not bother tuning further.

 

[bluemonkeyflyer]

Quote:

You could remove the half layer of tape. Is the stock bass port felt in place? Could be differences in equipment or personal preferences. I am not sensitive to sibilance, maybe because I dont hear above 15k hz. There could be sibilance above 15k that I don't hear but you do, I suppose.

A quick Google search found several sites with information on the frequency range for sibilance. They place sibilance somewhere between 4k-7k hz. So, my hearing loss above 15k hz has nothing to do with not hearing it. Maybe I'm just not as sensitive to sibilance as some.